


21

by Serenn



Category: Banana Bus Squad, Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: 21 DLC (Resident Evil), A Lot Of Chaos, Aftermath of Torture, Anxiety, Blackjack, Blood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Louisiana, M/M, Minor Character Death, Nightmares, Pain, Panic, Potential for Fluff Exists, Prosopagnosia, Road Trips, Torture, Violence, electric chair, no promises though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 00:17:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10933008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenn/pseuds/Serenn
Summary: Jonathan has finally managed to drag Evan, Tyler and Craig on a road trip along the southern states with an odd objective in mind. Their final stop ends up being Louisiana, specifically an abandoned house which once belonged to a normal, happy family. But they never really reach their destination and are forced to take a drastic break...Or: Evan and Tyler enjoy a nice game of blackjack, Jonathan is being sneaky and Craig goes for a leisurely walk.Based on the 21 DLC of Resident Evil - Biohazard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The idea has hung around me for a while now so I figured I'd post the start and see whether you guys like it. The guys are essentially Clancy and his "friends", for anyone who has played the game/seen Biohazard gameplay. This is definitely not a fluff story (not mainly), just as a warning in advance.
> 
> Feel free to tell me what you think/point out mistakes/make suggestions :)
> 
> Edit: Story isn't turning out the way it was supposed to. There is fluff. There weren't even relationship tags at the start now look what happened lol.
> 
> So, keep in mind that the first two, maybe three chapters were written in a no-fluff mindset. It gets better by the fourth chapter I think.

Tyler and Jonathan had been to Louisiana multiple times – it were Evan and Craig who felt uncomfortable in the south eastern state. Where the idea for a documentary about haunted places came from was unclear – although it likely sprouted from Jon – but as stupid as it sounded, they had decided to do it anyway.

“I didn’t know you were a fan of horror”, Tyler teased as he took the passenger seat of their minivan. Craig kept his eyes on the road as he drove but smiled in response.

“I’m not”, he said, knowing full well that Tyler knew too. “It’s been a fun road trip so far though.”

Tyler hummed and leaned back into his seat, mustering the landscape. The houses were becoming fewer and trees, fields and bogs took over. It was pleasant to look at but with the general atmosphere over the past few days, it was more unsettling than anything else. They had wrapped up a report in an abandoned factory two days ago, somewhere in the west of Georgia, the first place they had decided to check out which actually frightened them in the slightest. Against Jon’s protests, they had resolved to make this one in southern Louisiana their last.

Tyler was already daydreaming about being back in his home state. They had been on the road for way too long. As much as he loved his friends, he did miss his dogs and a proper bed.

“Check for me which turn we’re taking?”, Craig asked, slowing down a bit. Tyler reluctantly reached for the map and scanned the area. Light footsteps from behind him told him that one of the others was awake but he didn’t look up. Instead he scrutinised the road they had followed for the past two hours.

“It should have ended a mile ago”, Tyler frowned, squinting at the map. “I’m not missing anything am I?”

The map was pulled out of his hands and he turned around to see Jonathan, wearing sweatpants and a hoodie, looking rather sleepy. Jon mustered the map in silence before handing it back to Tyler. “What he said”, he just shrugged, causing Tyler to roll his eyes. “Just keep going I guess.”

Craig seemed a bit unsure but Jon was already walking to the small bed at the back to wake up Evan. After exchanging a hesitant glance with Tyler, he sped up again. The next twenty minutes were spent in near silence, only Evan and Jon could occasionally be heard in quiet conversation. The car slowed to a halt and everyone moved to the front to see what was going on. The road had thinned into a path which was too small for the van.

“Are you sure?”, Jonathan chuckled. Craig looked genuinely confused.

“I actually am”, he faltered. “I’m sure I didn’t miss any turns…”

“Obviously you did.”

“Or maybe the house can’t be accessed by car, how can you be so sure?”, Tyler defended Craig, glaring at Jon. He knew how much the locations had terrified him over the past weeks and Jon wasn’t helping in the slightest.

“Guys”, Evan intervened, pulling his jacket on. “Let’s just check it out, okay? If we find it, we’ll film it. If we don’t, we’ll just go back. No big deal.”

Tyler just grunted in response while Jon didn’t say anything at all. Evan and Jonathan wordlessly got changed in the back of the van while Tyler laced up his shoes. Craig turned off the engine and sank deeper into his seat, looking exhausted. His friend didn’t miss a beat.

“Just stay here, same as last time”, Tyler offered, briefly massaging small circles into the muscles around Craig’s shoulders. “No need to push yourself.”

Craig just sighed, melting into the touch. “I don’t want to let you guys down though.”

“The only one you could possibly let down is Jon and that’s perfectly fine for once”, Tyler growled, earning a light chuckle from Craig. He finally gave in and lay down on the bed in the back, promising to stay awake until they returned. Tyler assured him they wouldn’t take too long and would just scout the area before coming back, and he’d definitely take over driving duty once their recording was done. Craig just smiled softly at the other before the door closed between them. Just because he didn’t feel too safe all alone, he locked the car doors and windows for good measure and covered himself with a blanket.

Jon meanwhile had woken up enough to be excited about their objective again. His energetic self was leading the way, threatening to leave Evan’s immediate field of vision multiple times. It always made the other nervous so he’d discreetly try to speed up to not lose him. Tyler didn’t have any trouble keeping up with his long legs. A few minutes later, he realised that he hadn’t paid too much attention to which path they were taking. He was also beginning to worry about Craig since he had promised to be back by then.

“We should head back”, Tyler murmured, twisting his wrist towards him to check the time. Evan hummed and looked out for Jonathan, whom he had lost yet again.

When Tyler looked up from his watch, something hard hit him square across his face and he grunted in pain, sinking to his knees, protectively holding his arms out in front of his head. His vision was blurry and his ears were ringing, he barely made out a figure going for an oblivious Evan.

“Evan…” Tyler’s voice was a hoarse whisper and did nothing to warn his friend, who received a hit to the head as well and collapsed at once.

* * *

When Tyler came to his senses again, everything around him was black. Somebody was dragging him over the ground by his legs. He heard a muffled groan, which he quickly recognised to be Evan’s. Just as Tyler was about to struggle against the hold, his legs were released and painfully hit the ground. He felt two hands reaching under his arms and pull him up onto a chair, his arms being restrained by metal cuffs on each side, his ankles being bound to the chair legs with heavy ropes. At this point, Tyler realised that the scent of trees had disappeared.

“Ready boys?”

The sack covering his head was removed and Tyler flinched away from the light that suddenly pierced his eyes. His eyes had barely adjusted to the light when the alien voice sounded again.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s play time!”

Loud music flooded Tyler’s ears and he was finally able to see past the light in the contrasting dark room.

In front of him was a table covered in dried blood splatters. The word ‘blackjack’ was barely visible under the stains but once Tyler got past his initial disgust, his stomach filled with pure terror. His left hand was stuck in a metal contraption and it didn’t take him long to figure out that the small guillotines over his fingers were made to cut said digits off. Looking past the table, Tyler realised he wasn’t alone. Somebody sat in the chair opposite him, hand stuck in a similar trap, head still covered by a cloth.

“Well I hope you guys have played blackjack before!” Tyler attention moved from the man opposite him to the man on the screen behind them. His face looked gaunt and sunken but it were his colourless, unnaturally wide eyes that spoke volumes about him. The man was wickedly grinning at them and Tyler had never thought that a smile could terrify him so much. “The rules are simple – the highest score wins, just don’t get a score over 21! The winner gets to carry on with his life. The loser, well…”

A soul-rattling sound finished the sentence for him and Tyler felt his fingers vibrate uncomfortably.

“You sick fuck”, was all he could really muster, viciously glaring at the screen. He tested the bonds on him again but had to admit that his chances of escaping were zero and all he could do was hope to win the game and bank on the slight possibility that the man on the screen wasn’t as delusional as he seemed to be.

“…Tyler…?”

Tyler’s heart sank drastically when he heard that voice. He had guessed it but refused to believe it until now, when he knew exactly who sat on the other side of the table.

“Oh did I forget to take the mask off? My bad, dude, my bad. Terrible manners on my behalf.” The screen was switched off and left the two in complete darkness, almost making Tyler panic. “After all you should see your friend cry in pain, see him keel over, watch him begin to hate you for what you’re doing to him…”

“No… Tyler, I –“

“Let there be light!”

Tyler was faster to adjust to the lights than last time and his eyes darted up at once. His opponent was Evan himself, who looked more confused than scared when he blinked back at him. Cards suddenly shot out of the dark from the end of the table, landing perfectly in little card slots in front of both friends. Tyler stared blankly at the eleven on his card, the weight of the situation hitting him harder the longer he looked at it. This guy wouldn’t just cut their fingers off and let them leave. He was going to make them compete to the bitter end.

He was going to die. Or he was going to live with the guilt of murdering his friend. It was kill or be killed, there was no way out of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update took longer than I want to admit, I'm really sorry about that. Life happens sometimes.
> 
> But I'm back for the time being, so here's the second chapter! The blackjack part with Evan and Tyler was a little rushed and probably a little confusing. It took a while to figure out the card combinations but honestly they're not that important, so I wouldn't worry about following along too much. There won't be any more in-depth gameplay in the rest of the story.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it regardless. :]

Craig had accidentally dozed off in the back of their minivan and the moment he realised it, he forced himself to wake up. The blanket was still covering him and made breathing agonising so he glimpsed out before pulling the fabric off of him. He straightened up and reminded himself that he was a fully grown man who was _not_ afraid of fairytales.

Maybe it was the darkness under the blanket that confused his eyes but he was almost certain that it hadn’t been that dark when he’d last seen the sky. Craig checked the time, frowning at his watch. They were taking their time. It was a little unnerving.

But then they could’ve returned while he was asleep, gotten their equipment and left again. Craig’s shoulders relaxed just that tiny bit. It was enough to keep him from panicking. He double-checked for any signs that they had been here and, for his own sanity, didn’t touch Evan’s travel bag, which he knew contained all their recording gear. It was a surefire way of telling whether they had returned but also a surefire way of jumping to conclusions and making bad, impulsive decisions.

Craig took a deep breath, composing himself slightly. He pulled on his jacket, put on his shoes and picked up the car keys before pulling the door of the van open and jumping out. For a second it seemed as if the crunching of the leaves under his shoes was the only sound audible but when the faraway singing of birds joined in, Craig calmed down again. He had been far too jumpy over the past few days, even after the nightmares about that factory in Georgia had finally disappeared.

After locking up the van, Craig wandered around a bit, following the path away from the road. It was a pretty place – the leaves were golden, small plants were lining the path, the sun was filtering through the multitude of trees, throwing dancing shadows onto the foliage. Craig let his legs carry him, his mind cleared for the first time in over a week. It was blissful to say the least.

It was when the shadow of the tree leaves stopped dancing and the hair on his exposed forearms stood on end that Craig’s heart sped up its pace. The sun hadn’t disappeared and there was no breeze but it felt as if a cold blanket had been wrapped around him, as if somebody was softly blowing chilly air against his neck, as if a ghost had just passed through him. He didn’t know what he was scared of, but he knew he was scared.

Craig slowed his step and began to take in his surroundings more. A much larger shadow stretched in front of him and once he rounded another group of trees, he discovered a gigantic house in the distance. Looking closer, he observed someone descending the steps of the house porch but it was impossible to make out who it was. Craig just shrugged to himself and began striding towards the house, expecting the other three there, but he had barely made it into the other person’s field of view when someone else sprinted towards him at full speed and shoved him. He stumbled backwards, confused when he made out the agitated face of a young woman.

“Run”, she ordered, shoving him again with more force. “Now!”

Craig frowned at her, suddenly wondering whether these people actually lived here despite the reports about the house being abandoned. Was he trespassing?

“I’m so sorry, I was just –“

“Zoe?!”

The woman flinched at the sound of the third voice. Craig looked past her to see the figure, who had now stepped out of the shadows. She was an older woman with a hunched back and a furious expression on her face. Her eyes focused on Craig and it was as if ice ran through his veins, paralysing him. The younger woman, presumably Zoe, noticed the terror in his eyes and quickly caught herself. She continued to shove Craig back the way he came.

“Go, you need to go”, she snapped and Craig was quick to oblige. The older woman suddenly broke into a sprint and Craig turned around and ran into the opposite direction as quickly as he could. A blood-curdling scream from Zoe made Craig look back but Zoe, who tried to hold the other woman back and suddenly had a bloody kitchen knife lodged deep into her stomach, frantically shook her head at him. “RUN!”

Craig felt acid crawling up his throat but made sure to keep it down. He tried to find his way back to the van and was luckily quick to find it. The thought of Evan, Jon and Tyler made him hesitate but when he saw the mad woman crash through the hedges in the rear view mirror, Craig was forced to abandon the thought. He fumbled with the car keys and got the car started just in time to reverse into the safety of the road at the highest speed he could muster. Once he deemed it far enough, he turned the car around and drove off, trying to even out his breathing. _This can’t be happening…_ Surely he was still dreaming?

“As if”, he muttered to himself, cursing internally.

He fumbled for his phone but remembered that it still was dead, so he came to a stop a few minutes later to check the map. Once he found the little badge symbol, he memorised the directions and followed the route to the nearest police station, all the while trying his best to keep his hands from shaking too violently.

* * *

“Come on, boys, the round has started”, the man on the screen drawled. Evan turned as much as the ties allowed him, to get a glimpse at the guy. Tyler’s mouth edge jumped annoyingly, the urge to yell and complain and just curse everything was too strong. Instead he settled with a muttered, “bastard”. The man just grinned in response.

“I prefer Lucas, but I’m all open for nicknames.”

Evan finally found a position to sit in without risking breaking his neck. He frowned up at the guy.

“What if we don’t play, huh?”, he challenged. Tyler fully supported the defiance in his friend’s voice but he knew there was no real point debating the situation. There was a reason he was keeping relatively quiet. Lucas seemed amused by the idea.

“I thought it would be obvious”, he chuckled. The tiny guillotine above Evan’s middle finger suddenly sped downwards only to stop right before it could do any damage. When the guillotine was pulled back up, Tyler barely made out a small trickle of blood where the blade came in contact with Evan’s skin. Evan’s hands had tensed up against the restraining metal and leather, his eyes locked on the deadly contraption. He didn’t look like he was breathing. “Just play along and maybe one of you can walk away a proud winner! It’s just blackjack – no doubles, one deck, cards from one to eleven.”

Again, Tyler bit back any rude comments lingering on the tip of his tongue. He sighed and glanced up at Evan, who seemed to have recovered from the initial shock. In fact, he didn’t look terrified at all. Instead, he was blinking rapidly. Frowning, Tyler followed the direction Evan’s eyes jerked only to see the screen Lucas was shown on. Above the screen was a camera. Looking up further, he noticed the second camera right above them, to get a clear view of the cards on the table. But apparently it wasn’t what Evan was interested in, his erratic blinking continued. Tyler looked at the screen again but this time noticed that something was moving behind Lucas. He knew he was being suspicious by not saying anything for so long, so he didn’t make it a point to squint at the screen either.

“We can’t do anything about it I guess”, he mumbled instead. Evan frowned but caught on a second later. He closed his eyes and sighed.

“Alright”, he growled. “Alright. Let’s just get this over with. There’s no way out of this.”

Tyler watched Lucas out of the corner of his eyes and when he was sure that he was watching Evan, he tried to make out what was moving on the screen behind him. Unmistakably, with the same stained sweatpants and the blue jumper he had worn the entire roadtrip, Jonathan was crouching under a table behind Lucas. He noticed Tyler looking up and waved, expression rather worried. How on earth he had gotten there was beyond him.

“Hit me.”

Tyler returned his attention to the game when a card was tossed out of the darkness to neatly fall into the slot next to Evan’s existing two cards. The first, just like Tyler’s, was facing the wrong way, its worth unknown. Evan’s second card displayed a number 3. The added card, a 9, lifted his score to a solid 12, surpassing Tyler’s 11. The spotlight fell on Tyler, who kept his head down to avoid it hitting his eyes. He mustered his first card, the tiny number on its back telling him that it was a 2. A small idea crossed his mind but the probability of it working out was rather low.

Depending everything on their communication skills, Tyler took a deep breath. “Hit me, too.”

A card was thrown into the slot next to his 11, an additional 4. In the small second in which the spotlights above Tyler turned off and above Evan turned on, Tyler lifted two fingers as discreetly as he could, to indicate the worth of his hidden card. Tyler was engulfed in darkness and used the focus on Evan to look back up at the screen.

Jon was indicating two things – he alternated between his hand sliding along his own throat and picking up a severed electricity cord and making a breaking motion. Tyler had a vague idea what he meant – try to kill Lucas or try to destroy the machines. His heart was beating faster as he tried to think of how to communicate with Jonathan without being noticed. If Lucas did so much as turn around, Jon would be dead.

“Well?” Tyler looked back at Evan when Lucas spoke. “What’s it gonna be?”

Evan’s face was impossible to read and Tyler had no idea whether he had caught his hint. He was frowning slightly and the longer it took for a decision to be made, the higher did the panic rise in his chest. Just when the thought crossed him that Evan might play to win, his friend spoke up.

“I’ll stay.”

The light flashed back to Tyler and he barely made out Evan nodding at him, so he hoped for the best and went with it. “Yeah, I’ll stay too.”

Lucas’ smile widened before the screen flashed and displayed the word ‘showdown’ instead. Tyler held his breath, mentally preparing for the worst, because _fuck_ he might be getting his _fingers_ cut off in a second. He was suddenly all too aware of the sweat building on his neck and the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, just those weren’t friendly butterflies, those were nasty moths that ate at his insides, bit by bit…

“The winner is…”

Saliva built in his mouth but he couldn’t even swallow it down, his throat was clamped shut in terror.

“…both of you apparently.” Tyler frowned and looked up at Evan, the subtlest of smiles lining his features. “Looks like you guys got lucky, it’s a draw.”

The relief was gone as quickly as it came when cards were removed in the dark and distributed again. But it meant that there was a flaw in the game and by the look in Evan’s eyes, Tyler wasn’t the only one planning to continue with this strategy. He really was curious – would it work again? How long could someone cheat without being noticed?

The bloody symbol on Evan’s first card was a 4. Tyler’s own cards were a hidden 10 and a visible 6. He hoped that Evan had a high number hidden because even the highest card – an 11 – wouldn’t match their points right then. He didn’t give it a second thought.

“I’ll stay”, he said. When the spotlight switched over to Evan, Tyler looked back up, only to find Jonathan gone. Tyler prayed that his friend wasn’t planning on doing anything stupid and focused on the game at hand.

Evan hadn’t given his own situation a lot of thought either, it seemed.

“Hit me.”

The card that fell into Evan’s third slot was a disappointing 2. Tyler’s stomach tensed with worry when Evan just looked up and shook his head in the darkness. He wore that same expression he always sported when they played Black Ops Zombies together – Evan downed in a corner, about to die, trying to get Tyler to save himself.

Well Tyler always took his chances, maybe he’d get a lucky insta-kill after all. At this point, he trusted Evan that he’d lose with his current cards.

“Hit me.”

Evan might as well have looked like a question mark right then. A card flew into Tyler’s deck and as lucky as he was, it was the lowest number he could’ve gotten – 1. The spotlight switched to Evan, who still tried to comprehend what was happening. Tyler nodded in the dark, urging Evan to take his chances too. Evan hesitated at first.

“Um… Hit me?”

It was almost like a question and the answer was a number 8. Tyler was glad it was a higher number but when the light returned to blind him instead, all his insecurities flooded back. He might have saved Evan but could have potentially made his own life worse. He stared at the cards, too afraid to even look up.

“Tyler?”

Thanking Evan for the excuse to look up, Tyler averted his eyes from the cards. Oddly, Evan was smiling.

“I know we won’t get out of this”, he said, taking a shaky breath and shooting Tyler a pointed look. “But I’m glad I got to spend my last few weeks with you three.”

Tyler wanted to ask whether Evan really had the audacity to get all emotional with him now but the look Evan gave him was nowhere as emotional as his voice had sounded. That look was _imploring._

Maybe it was a hint.

Tyler’s mind was going overdrive as he tried to understand what on earth Evan meant. He wouldn’t just say that, not Evan… _I’m glad I got to spend my last few weeks with you three…_

_You three…_

Tyler almost bit his lip at the realisation. He quickly did the math and tried his hardest not to look too elated and relieved. If Evan’s hidden card was a 3, then both of their scores were at 17, a perfect draw.

“Me too”, Tyler choked out, almost having forgotten to play along. Luckily the choke seemed to come across more as a particularly nasty emotional sob, so he just went with it. “Thanks for everything. I’m sorry that we ended up in this mess.”

“Hey, it’s not your fau-“

“Boys boys boys”, Lucas’ sing-song voice interrupted them, a slightly harsh edge to it. “If you don’t keep playing, I might just have to kill you immediately.”

Tyler couldn’t even be angry since he knew that no fingers would be cut off this round.

“Alright then, I’ll fucking stay”, he hissed. He tried his hardest to keep a straight face.

Evan caught his eye when the lights switched again. “I’ll stay too.”

“And the winner is…” Lucas’ gleeful tone turned into one of disapproval. “…nevermind. It’s a draw again. Ah well, idiots can only get so lucky… Round three!”

Both Tyler and Evan knew that their luck could only last so long. They watched the cards being collected and given out yet again, without a single sound. Tyler mustered his cards with a stern expression. Evan wondered what he was thinking about right then.

His own first card was a 5, his hidden a promising 11. A glance at Tyler’s side told him that Tyler’s visible score was at 8. He seemed rather confident though, so Evan decided to play up. The light switched over to him, indicating his turn.

“Hit me.”

The new card was a 4, bringing his score to a dangerously high 20. The small realisation that there could have been a chance that he’d go over 21 made him shiver briefly but he shook the thought off. The question was where that left Tyler right then.

Tyler looked more concentrated than Evan had ever seen him. “Hit me.”

The additional card was a 6, making his visible score a 14. Evan glanced up at Tyler, about to say he has to stay, when Tyler lifted his trapped hand as much as he possibly could, along with two fingers of his other hand. Evan quickly looked back down at his own cards to avoid suspicions and thought about it.

So Tyler had a hidden 7… Which meant that his total score was 21. There was no way he could touch Tyler in this situation. One deck, one to eleven… Only numbers 1, 2, 3, 9 and 10 were left. The latter four meant he lost, the 1 could give him the draw, nothing could give him the win.

With that knowledge and the onset of what could be a panic attack lurking in his stomach, Evan took that 1 in 5 chance.

“…hit me.”

Tyler’s eyes widened but he said nothing. There was some hesitation before the card was finally thrown out.

He drew the elusive 1. Evan could have cried.

Tyler sent him a questioning look and once Evan was hidden from the light, he nodded like crazy. His expression was unsure but since this had turned into a game of trust and luck, he nodded too.

“I’ll stay”, he said.

Evan agreed. “Me too.”

“The winner is…”

The pause this time was much longer and much more tense. They could almost feel Lucas holding his breath.

“It’s a fucking draw.”

He didn’t say anything for a while and the other two wondered whether they had gone too far. Evan was almost getting ready for Lucas’ wrath, all fingers cut off at once, some kind of torturous death… If he hadn’t felt sick before, he definitely did now.

“…alright, ‘s whatever. Fourth round, you beggars.”

Evan let out the strained held breath in a forced but quiet, even manner. While the spotlight was back on Tyler, he chanced a glance at the screen behind him. He almost jumped in his seat. Jonathan was standing scarily close behind Lucas, watching them along with him. He noticed Evan in the dark too and, against all odds, he was smiling. Evan frowned but the only response he got was an object Jon held up.

It was the same bloody 1 that had just saved his life.

With a grin, Jon pocketed the card again. Evan looked back at Tyler, who looked up from the cards they had just gotten, and indicated to the screen. Tyler only briefly shot the screen a look and when he realised what was going on, he buried his face in his untrapped hand. Evan could barely make out the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.

It wasn’t a game of luck anymore. There was a chance. How exactly they were going to escape, they didn’t know. But they knew how to buy enough time to figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment any thoughts/corrections. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while to realise that fear-themed writing isn't my strong point at all, I find these surprisingly difficult to write. I do have another story idea in mind which is all fluff and happiness so planning that at the same time as writing this one is obviously a great idea.
> 
> I did keep the gameplay to a minimum this time, it's far easier to read than the last chapter I'd say.
> 
> I know I'm complaining about my own story here but don't worry, I'll finish it. :D

There wasn’t a sound, yet there was so much noise in his head. And so, so much blood.

The memory after arriving at the police station was nothing more than a blur but Craig had a slight idea of what happened. He’d rushed in there, not in a much better state than he was in right now, yelling out the emotions he’d kept muted the entire drive to safety. The next thing he was aware of was the cold sweat at his neck and palms as he stared at the same road he’d just left. Nothing between arriving and leaving made any sense to Craig. A dull ache spread through his arms when he’d lightly touch them. When he asked the officer next to him about it, he received a frown.

“That’s funny, kid.”

“What’s so funny about it?”, Craig asked. His voice was quivering, not out of fear but as a consequence of all that screaming he’d done. Although he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t kind of scared too.

The officer briefly averted his eyes from the road ahead and in the small second in which the two men made eye contact, the officer seemed to get the hint.

“You really don’t remember, do you?” Craig hummed in confirmation, too tired to use his voice much. The officer actually looked a bit amused at that point. “We had to restrain you for a solid ten minutes, you wouldn’t stop running around. You took the sheriff’s gun, might I add, almost got away with it too.”

Craig responded with silence. If he hadn’t been so exhausted, maybe he’d have managed to apologise. Maybe.

His eyes lazily drifted over the darkening landscape, no information travelling to his brain at all. His gaze hung on a dusty road sign as they approached and passed it, a memory flooding back into place. Around here, he’d asked Tyler to check the map. He missed Tyler.

The static-like imaginary noise in his head began to overpower the soothing droning of the car, so he sat up a bit in his seat and tried to focus on reality for the time being.

“Are the others coming later?”, he asked, just to break the silence.

“Others? We’re not wasting anyone else on this.”

Craig looked for a trace of a joke but his companion’s face gave none. “Wasting?”

The officer waved an exaspered hand at nothing in particular. “Only reason I’ve been sent at all is because you said a woman got stabbed. That’s already an exception. We don’t fuck with Dulvey, ever.”

The mental image of Zoe returned to the front and the blood and nausea was back in an instant. It took him a laboured minute to repress the feeling again. Craig fidgeted a bit. “What about my friends?”

The officer just shrugged, not bothering to look at him. “There’s a church back at the station, worth a prayer.”

* * *

Evan eyed the cards in front of him with a bit more determination than before. He had confidence now that Jonathan was able to meddle with the game, so he left it up to his mastermind to help them out. Despite that confidence, he just as much knew that this strategy wouldn’t get them out of there. Evan had already decided that after a few more rounds, he’d have to tell Jon to leave. Saying it made him nervous was an understatement.

For now he enjoyed the reassurance that this round would be safe. He trusted Jon to figure it out.

Evan started with a total score of 13, Tyler subtly communicated to him that his own score was at 14. Since Evan couldn’t communicate the worth of his own hidden card in time, Tyler played as he thought was right.

“Hit me”, he said, receiving a 2 in response. Evan knew his score was behind, so he quickly did the same. The new card, a 6, raised his score to 18, against Tyler’s 16.

At that point, he realised that he might have fucked up. The number 2 was already on the table, there was no way for Tyler to even out their scores with the next card… Evan bit his lip and chanced a look at the screen. Jon, too, was thinking hard about the situation.

Drawing a 1 would keep Tyler’s score just barely below Evan’s. Drawing a 3 would be the end of Evan. Drawing anything else – 7, 9 or 11 – would bring Tyler’s score above 21.

Tyler looked up, helplessly searching Evan’s eyes. The Canadian couldn’t do much more than shrug – it had finally come to the point where it was Tyler or Evan, not neither or both. Evan tilted his head to indicate that he wouldn’t judge Tyler for trying to draw another card.

So he did. “Hit me.”

As if the game tried to make up for their dumb luck over the past few rounds, it flung the dreaded 3 out.

Evan’s heartbeat picked up rapidly as he stared at the card. He’d anticipated it, but he hadn’t been ready for it to actually happen. Tyler watched Evan with wide eyes, sudden regret and fear flooding his face.

He might as well look away and hope it wasn’t too painful.

While turning to stare at the darkness beside him, he noticed movement on the screen. Jon was indicating for Evan to draw. Evan stared back at those blue, pleading eyes for a while, that look he couldn’t ever say no to, the look that started this roadtrip and got them here.

He decided to switch his brain off entirely. “Hit me.”

That same battered 1. Again.

Evan didn’t bother thinking about by how much he was losing, he was just convinced he’d lost. He closed his eyes and held his breath.

“I’ll stay”, he heard Tyler say.

“The winner is…”

It was the longest silence so far. Evan didn’t dare to move or breathe.

“Alright you fuckers, that’s it”, Lucas said and Evan, against his better judgement, opened one eye to see what was going on. He looked at the screen to see Jon scrambling away from Lucas and back under the table in the back, just in time for Lucas to get up and leave the room, not taking notice of the intruder.

Evan let out the breath he’d held and turned back to Tyler. “What happened?”

Tyler shrugged in response but pointed at the screen instead. Jon had snuck up to the camera.

“Guys, can you hear me?”, he croaked, voice a little raspy.

“Kinda”, Tyler nodded. “Watch out though.”

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine”, Jon waved off, leaning a bit closer to the camera. “That one was difficult to pull off. Thought of the 3 and 1 last second.” Tyler and Evan exchanged glances, neither having realised that another perfect draw was on the table. “You guys good?”

“Yeah”, Evan said, though quietened when he heard heavy footsteps above them. “Listen, you have to leave us and find a way to get us out of here, otherwise this isn’t going anywhere.”

Jonathan was already nodding before Evan even finished talking. “I know, I know. Can’t say I want to, but I know. You guys have to buy me some time, I think I figured out how to get to the machine thing. I don’t know what to do beyond there but trust me, I’ve got this.”

Evan knew that Jonathan was assuring himself moreso than the other two, but he still sent him a firm nod. “I trust you, I always do.”

Tyler was watching them, not saying a word. Jon smiled, it wasn’t difficult to tell that he liked that response. The footsteps briefly stopped before growing louder.

“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna come in here”, Evan muttered and Tyler indicated Jon to hide.

“He’s not going to kill us, is he?”

“He could…but it’d probably ruin the fun for him to do it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Then the lights went out, the camera was the only thing visible. Jon was out of sight, thankfully. Somebody was loosening Evan’s trapped hand and when he tried to use that time to fight back, he felt a cold blade on his throat.

“Don’t even think about it”, a voice hissed into his ear, clearly Lucas’.

Evan did feel scared shitless just from the light contact but he couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful too. Lucas didn’t seem to want to kill them just yet, Tyler had been right.

His hand was fastened onto the arm rest again and the blade was removed. A minute or two later, Lucas entered the room shown on the screen and sat down in front of the camera, expression relaxed again. Evan just frowned. This guy had some serious mood swing issues.

The light was turned on again and the first thing that caught his eye was a large machine to Evan’s right, attached to his hand. A meter was attached on each side as well, he couldn’t quite figure out what it was for though.

Lucas was leaning onto his arm, playing with a small pocket knife. “We’re gonna up the stakes a little because you guys are boring. That meter goes up every time you lose, the higher, the more painful.”

Before either Evan or Tyler could ask about the ‘painful’ part, new cards were distributed. Evan was biting his lip, nervous now that they had no backup. Tyler was eyeing the machine, unease written across his face. The round played out slowly, Evan oddly aware of the tension in the air. Goosebumps lined his arms, he felt restless.

And then he lost the round. He knew, because he’d kept track of Tyler’s score.

“The winner is…”, Lucas said, this time smiling. “Tyler!”

Evan barely had time to register that Lucas knew their names before a rapid pain shot from his hand into the rest of his body. He felt as if his skin was being stretched apart, as if his brain was on fire, he could explode right then and there. His chest was pulsating, constantly contracting and bending and he was hyperaware of every muscle in his body. His mind shut off, his vision went black and then it stopped.

It took him a few seconds to realise that Tyler was yelling his name.

“What?”

“Fucking christ, Evan”, Tyler breathed, leaning back in his chair, eyes wide. “Thought that was it.”

Evan had spots on his eyes and was too afraid to move a muscle but he was somewhat fine. Literally and metaphorically stunned but alive. He mustered his exposed forearms, the skin perfectly intact. It certainly didn’t _feel_ intact.

“Would be surprised if he was dead”, Lucas said, eyebrows raised. “That’s the lowest possible level. My sister can do better.”

The next round began way too quickly and Evan had no time to recover. At times he felt his mind zoning out entirely and it scared the shit out of him every time he noticed. Even tapping the table to get another card was comparable to walking on thin needles.

Unfortunately, he lost the next round too.

Evan convulsed violently, not even aware of the fact that he was screaming his lungs out. He caught a glimpse of the screen and made eye contact with Jonathan again. The electricity was dancing in the other’s eyes but Evan didn’t realise it, his consciousness slipped, his attention wavered. He stared straight at Jon but wasn’t aware of it. He wasn’t aware of the tears that silently streamed down his face or the way he soundlessly called his name. Tyler was signalling at Jon until the other finally regained some form of composure and ducked out of sight, disappearing.

Evan’s safe haven was gone. His sanity was bound to slip soon too.

* * *

Craig was a little more clear-headed by the time his feet hit the ground again. How he hadn’t noticed how useless this officer was before, he didn’t know. The guy had asked Craig to lead the way once they’d left the car and hold the flashlight and a few minutes of silent walking later, he had suddenly grabbed his shoulder from behind him. Craig would like to say he’d just yelped a little, but the high-pitched wail of terror that escaped him couldn’t be denied.

“Oh my god, don’t _do_ that –“, he cried out but when he saw the expression on the officer’s face, he realised that he hadn’t even _meant_ to scare him. He was looking back the way they came, hand sliding along his belt. “Something wrong?”

The officer dropped his hand dramatically and glanced back at Craig. “Yes. We have a problem.”

“…what problem?”

“I forgot my gun.”

Craig just stared at the taller guy, the incompetence harshly sinking in. If that crazy old woman was still around, they’d have a major problem.

“Are we going back?”, he asked tentatively. The officer nodded a little which brought Craig’s hopes back up, but –

“Definitely”, he confirmed before placing a hand on Craig’s shoulder. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a few.”

With that, the man just jogged off back down the trail and out of sight. Craig stood there, lips parted with confusion, which soon started trembling just that tiny bit when he realised what was happening. He was alone. On his own. He was maybe a hundred meters away from where he’d seen Zoe get murdered.

It took Zoe a few seconds to get stabbed. It’d take him one blink to get murdered.

Craig had to stop for a minute to regain some form of confidence before he could even think about his next move. He doubted he’d get much help from the officer, if any at all. If he couldn’t prove that a struggle of sorts took place, he was guaranteed that they wouldn’t send anyone to investigate the area. And if they didn’t investigate the area, his chances of finding his friends was zero.

“Well, fuck me too”, he exclaimed with faked glee before slowly heading towards the house.

Craig found the scene of the crime but not Zoe. There were blood-stained leaves on the ground, leading down another way along the house. He was about to follow the trail when he noticed that a light was cast on the trees on the other side of the house. Craig rounded the corner, as quietly as he could.

There, walking straight towards the shadowy corner Craig was hiding in, was the woman he’d seen earlier that day, an old lantern clutched tightly in her hand, casting an eerie light on her face.

Craig took that as his cue to bail.

He ran back, more worried about quickly getting back to the cop than being heard by that woman. Only when he was back in the dark safety of the trees did he realise that the officer should’ve been back by then. Would he leave him for dead? _Wouldn’t be surprised_ , Craig thought bitterly.

When he finally saw the cop car in the distance, it began to rain, very lightly and very inconsistently. Craig didn’t pay too much mind to it and carelessly wiped the drops on his face off with the back of his hand. When he pulled his hand away, it was stained in a familiar red.

“No way”, Craig whispered under his breath, unwilling to look up. “No, no, no, no…”

He sped up to the car in hopes of finding the officer inside but, as expected, he wasn’t there. Craig bit his lip and headed back to the point where it had ‘rained’. He took a deep breath and shone the flashlight up.

There was the mutilated corpse of a man. Beyond all the flesh and the dripping blood, the only way of telling that this was the police officer was by his equally stained uniform.

Craig unceremoniously threw up a few steps away.

After standing there, bent over, leaning on his knees for what seemed like an hour, he finally managed to straighten up a little. He wiped his mouth, slightly disgusted with himself, before trudging back to the car, flashlight switched off in case anyone saw him. He felt queasy and ready to pass out, so finally being able to sit down inside the car was a tiny blessing.

He found a spare walkie-talkie and somehow got it to work. After trying multiple frequencies, he finally heard someone talk.

“- down LA-24, heading for 56 –“

“Hello?!”

The line went still for a second.

“…who’s there?”

“I’m Craig Thompson, I was sent with an officer to investigate a murder but he ended up dead”, Craig rattled down, feeling like he might start crying any second. “Please help me, I’m alone and there is a murderer somewhere around here…”

“What’s your position?”

“Southern Dulvey, Louisiana, by the abandoned Baker residence? I think I saw a bay of sorts on the map when we came here –“

“Don’t worry, we’ll send some people down there to collect you but it will take a good while to get to Dulvey”, the man interrupted. “Stay alive.”

With that, his voice was replaced with static and silence fell. Craig tossed the walkie-talkie into the back seat and buried his face in his hands. After a few minutes of worrying, Craig got out of the car again.

“Come on, Craig, it’s not that hard”, he muttered to himself, controlling his breathing. “Get the keys and drive away. Get the keys off his body, don’t get stabbed.”

He returned to the dead police officer, but instead found his gun discarded on the ground next to him. He bit his lip, conflicted. Evan, Jonathan, Tyler… But he could just… _Tyler…_

“Fuck my life”, Craig growled, holding the gun up in front of him and making his way back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback/corrections are as always very welcome. Also, I'm considering extending the story? It would be the aftermath essentially, a lot of hurt/comfort type of fluff, if that makes any sense - either as extra chapters or a separate one-shot.
> 
> Would that ruin the atmosphere? Part of me wants to add thousands of hugs, another wants to just end the story already haha.
> 
> If you're reading this and have any thoughts on it, do leave a comment, I will love you so much. Decisions are hard.


	4. Chapter 4

Tyler’s chest was heaving painfully as he watched Evan twitch in his seat. The bright lights finally stopped and Evan slumped back into himself, face hidden in the shadows. Tyler waited five seconds before he kicked his friend in the shin.

“Evan.”

Evan didn’t move at first but after another well-placed kick, he finally jerked awake. There hadn’t been a single sign of Jonathan through the last few rounds and both Evan and Tyler had passed out multiple times through the ordeal. It was almost peaceful when they blacked out but they constantly had to pull themselves out of their reverie before Lucas could decide that the game was over and killed them.

Both felt like they were being ripped apart from the inside, both sported heavy burns on their arms and faces, their bloodied and dried skin chipping off, neither could move much. Tyler felt like he was on the brink of insanity while Evan was rendered speechless, unable to utter more than a few sounds. Tyler wasn’t too sure whether Evan could actually see anything either – he’d look into his general direction but not directly at him and his game choices didn’t make any logical sense either. So far, one would always send the other a pointed look and the other would nod, confirming that they were okay. This time, Evan weakly shook his head at Tyler.

Tyler scowled, at a limit as well. He had a feeling that he wouldn’t wake up the next time he blacked out. He didn’t even have the energy to be anxious about it anymore. He just wanted it to end.

Lucas sighed loudly, hummed a bit and finally slammed the blade of his pocket knife into the table next to him. Evan flinched slightly, every sound putting him on edge.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate your resilience and all”, Lucas said slowly. “But I’m getting bored.”

Without warning, the lights went off again and a minute later were switched back on. A deadly-looking saw blade was suspended between Evan and Tyler, spinning dangerously fast. It slowed to a stop.

“You’ve got to be kidding me”, Tyler muttered, glaring at the ceiling. Evan just groaned.

“Your fault for not dying, man”, Lucas shrugged. “Whoever loses this round gets a saw into their skulls. How’s that sound?”

Tyler somehow managed to look up at the screen. “What about the winner?”

Lucas just smiled at him. It was a sickening sight to say the least.

The round played out slowly and at this point Tyler could confirm that Evan either lost his willpower to survive or his ability to see. He wasn’t looking at the cards. He wasn’t looking at anything.

The score was heavily tilted towards a win at a score of 17 against 21 for Evan but before Tyler even noticed, Evan randomly drew another card.

“Evan, what are you doing?!”, Tyler hissed but there wasn’t anything he could do, the card was thrown out and that was the end of the round. Evan crossed 21. The man himself was unmoving, the fact that he was breathing barely visible. “Evan…”

Lucas was all smiles this time. “The winner is Tyler! Ain’t you happy you made it?”

Tyler was staring at his friend, paralysed. The reality that everything was over, the reality of what he was about to see, of what was about to happen…

“No”, he muttered, no power left in his voice. “No, wait – you can’t do this, please…”

“Say goodbye to your friend, Tyler~”

“WAIT –“

The saw began to spin again, accelerating until it was a massive blur, but Evan still wasn’t moving and Tyler just kept screaming with whatever amount of energy he had left. The saw reached it’s highest speed before zooming straight at Evan’s head.

Then it suddenly was pitch-black and silence fell.

Was that it? “…Evan?”

A door flew open with a loud crash behind Tyler, letting a dim light flood in. Tyler’s first guess was that Lucas had come to finish the job by killing him but he soon found hands on his face, carefully turning his head up.

“Tyler?” Tyler forced himself to look up when he recognised Jonathan’s voice, confused.

“Jon?”, he mumbled and the other nodded. He wiped away the tears Tyler didn’t realise he was shedding before working on freeing him. “No, check on Evan…”

He barely made out Jonathan biting his lip in worry before he inched his way into the darkness. A clicking sound emerged, along with a quiet sob.

“He’s fine! It stopped just in time.”

Indeed, when Tyler’s eyes finally adjusted to the light, he could see Jon carefully removing the unconscious Evan from the seat, the saw a mere inch away from his face. He hadn’t thought it was possible to still get this lucky… Tyler actually managed a fatigued smile.

“We need to get out before he gets here”, Jon said, somehow managing to half carry half drag both Evan and Tyler outside. The door was slightly below ground level so they’d have to climb out.

The light came from a dim lantern that hung on a wall and Tyler was surprised to see that it otherwise was dark outside already. They were in the process of scrambling out of their little trench when the light was blocked. Terror flooded Tyler’s stomach again and he looked up to see Lucas, expression furious.

“Where do you think you’re going boys? Think you’re gonna escape before I kill you?”, he growled before grabbing Jonathan by the collar of his hoodie and lifting him impossibly high above the ground. “Oh no, I _will_ kill you. And I’m gonna kill you first because you ruined my game!”

With his free hand, Lucas pulled his knife out of his pocket, extracted the blade and went for the lethal swing, Jonathan struggling wildly. His eyes went wide when a deafening sound made Lucas stagger to the side and drop him. Jon scrambled away only to spot someone behind Lucas.

Lucas turned to face the newcomer, the fury etched into his face. There stood Craig, a gun nestled between his hands and aimed straight at Lucas. His threatening stance was a stark contrast to his terrified expression. Jon quickly got back to his feet.

“Shoot again!”, he yelled and Craig pulled the trigger almost automatically. The bullet hit Lucas’ head but it took four more shots to finally force him to the ground. Craig just stared at him in horror.

“Craig, help me here”, Jon called, slinging an arm around Evan’s waist.

“It took five bullets to kill him, that’s not normal - ?”

“GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE.”

Craig more or less snapped out of it and rushed over to Jon. Together they pulled Evan and Tyler out and above ground level.

“Let’s get back to the van”, Jon suggested as the four stumbled away from the house.

“The van isn’t here”, Craig confessed. “There’s a police car though, we should be able to get the keys and get out.”

Jon and Tyler threw confused looks at Craig but the latter didn’t explain himself. They headed straight for the car, Craig purposely leading them around the officer’s dead body to avoid having to stop again. Tyler opened the door and Jonathan put Evan down in the back seat.

“Where are the keys?”, Jonathan asked.

“Down there”, Craig said, pointing out a direction.

Without another word, Jon was off into the darkness and Craig didn’t get to warn him about the dead body before he got there himself. He didn’t notice it at first so Craig did his best to usher him a bit further away from it. Jon wasn’t stupid though so when Craig told him to search on the ground, he looked up.

Jonathan stood under the corpse, staring straight at it, unmoving. At the same time, the rustling of hedges and leaves could be heard but Jon didn’t seem to register it at all.

“Jon, we need to go”, Craig muttered just when the figure of Lucas appeared from the shadows. “Jon, get the keys!”

“W-what the fuck is that?”

Realising that Jon was paralysed with fear, Craig reached for the gun only to realise that he left it by the car. Lucas was maybe a solid fifty feet away from them.

“Ah fuck”, Craig muttered before pushing Jon out of the way and reaching up, hands searching along the disfigured dead body. He finally felt thin metal between his now bloodied fingers and pulled the keys out before dragging Jon back to the car. It luckily didn’t take too long before Jon snapped out of it and ran along.

“What the fuck was that?”, Jon asked again but Craig shook his head.

“Exactly what you think”, he murmured, mustering the multitude of keys while they ran. “What I want to know is why _he_ isn’t dead, I shot him five times already!”

He indicated back at Lucas, who seemed to mock them by speed-walking rather than running after them. It didn’t make it less terrifying.

They neared the car and Craig found the car key just in time. He tossed them at Jonathan and picked up the gun on top of the car.

“It’s the short black one, get the car going!”

Jon just nodded and got into the car, trying to remind himself how to drive. Craig stood perfectly still in front of the car, gun aimed straight at the approaching figure of Lucas. The moment he came too close, he shot him in the chest. Lucas stumbled backwards a bit but only a few seconds later, he was taking off towards them again.

“That’s so not normal”, Craig stuttered as he kept shooting. He was flooded with relief when he heard the engine behind him rev to life.

“Get in!”, Jon yelled. He reached across to open the passenger door and both him and Tyler watched Craig stumble backwards to the car, still firing shots at an unfazed Lucas. Just when Lucas was about to reach out for Craig’s head, Tyler managed to lean out and yank him into the car by his waist.

“Fucking DRIVE”, Tyler bellowed and Jon smashed the accelerator. Lucas quickly held onto the open passenger door – the entire car stopped moving – but Craig was able to lodge another bullet into his head, giving them enough time to shut the door and get out of there.

When they were sure that they’d made it out safely, Craig let out a long breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Holy shit”, he whispered and sank into Tyler’s arms, despite the uncomfortable position. Tyler reclined the passenger seat and leaned forward, uncaring that every move hurt to the point that he wanted to scream. A bit more comfortable now, Craig slowly stopped shaking and let himself believe Tyler’s soothing voice, that everything was going to be okay and that he was safe.

Jonathan meanwhile eyed the rear view mirror more often than he’d like to admit. Evan still hadn’t woken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the suggestions last chapter! I'm still not too sure how I'll end it but there will almost definitely be an epilogue of sorts.
> 
> (And I'll officially add the relationship tags at this point, it's decided)


	5. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry

Jonathan mustered the array of lilies, roses and other flowers he’d never even heard of, idly tucking a flyaway leaf away. He’d never given anyone a bouquet of flowers and for the first time ever, he realised that, perhaps, Evan was the person closest to his heart.

What an odd thought.

“You can go in now.”

Jonathan looked up at the nurse with a tired smile. She was lovely, really. She had replaced the rickety plastic chair outside room 203 with a small armchair. It made staring at the door much easier.

He waited for the nurse to leave before gingerly getting to his feet and entering the dreaded room. He began his routine at once.

“Hey, long time no see”, he greeted. He made his way across the room to the vase he’d brought day one. “Just kidding. You’re probably tired of me at this point, walking in here every day at the same time. But nobody else is going to annoy you and somebody has to do it.

“Oh yeah, I remembered that you didn’t like peonies – which makes absolutely no sense, they smell like heaven – but I replaced them with roses and lilies. There’s some white flower stuff inbetween too, don’t ask me what they are. They’re pretty though! Match the room. Very white.

“A bunch of bills arrived yesterday too, from your place in LA. Don’t worry, I paid them for you. Oh and look at what I got you!” Jon took out a box and opened it. “A new phone! We couldn’t find your old one, you probably lost it in Dul – I mean, in that place. I can’t drop by tomorrow so if you need anything, just call me or send a text.”

Jonathan took the broom in the corner and began to brush the floor. “Didn’t mean to say the name. They told me not to mention it. Might scare you away. I don’t think you can be scared away though. If Gmod Scary Maps can’t get you, nothing can.”

He sighed a little and looked around. “To be honest, they told me not to say anything ‘out of the ordinary’ at all. It might confuse you or make you emotional.” A hollow chuckle escaped him. “Not like you can hear me anyway.”

Jonathan stood there for a few seconds, mind blank, feeling out of place. Eventually he put everything back the way it was, changed the sheets once more and closed the curtains.

“Sweet dreams Evan.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click. Evan was alone again.

Two days later, the door opened again. Jon entered with a smile.

“Hey there.”

_“Hey!”_

“How’s everything been? They treating you okay?”

_“More or less, yeah.”_

“You didn’t text me. Was everything fine yesterday?”

_“Yeah. Quiet but okay.”_

Jonathan hummed briefly and began to clean up the room.

“The flowers are holding up surprisingly well”, he noted and gently watered the plants. “The flower girl actually asked about you.”

_“Aw.”_

“I told her you’re still going strong. Sound about right?”

_“I am, yeah.”_

Jonathan sat down on the hospital bed, mustering Evan’s hand. A few seconds later, he took it.

“You’ve got a little scar on your hand”, he noticed, turning the other’s palm down. He lightly ran his own fingers over the healing tissue. “You have a lot of other scars too but this one is tiny and thin. It connects your knuckles, see?”

_“Weird.”_

“I think it’s cute. Anyway, I should go. Still got to take care of insurance renewal.”

_“Sounds boring. You should stay here.”_

“I don’t really want to go but if I don’t, they won’t take care of you and I can’t let that happen.” Jonathan let go of Evan’s hand, much to the other’s disapproval.

“Sweet dreams, Evan.”

_“I’m not dreaming, Jon.”_

The door closed yet again and Evan just wanted to scream. He was screaming. But nobody ever heard him.

It had been three weeks since Dulvey by then. Jonathan was finding it harder and harder to keep up his smile. The doctors were beginning to pity him. The nurse left him cookies. The other patients were starting to apologise for his ‘circumstances’. The flower girl gave him a hug this morning.

“She was almost crying”, Jon retold, leaning on both of his arms. They had put another chair into the room, just for him.

_“That’s rude. I’m fine.”_

“You’re really starting to worry me, dude.”

_“Stop worrying.”_

“God, I wish I could talk to you right now.”

_“You already are.”_

“I was going to have Craig send you some of your stuff but he never returned to LA either. He’s staying with Tyler right now.”

_“Oh.”_

“Tyler isn’t doing too well either. Craig says he looks depressed. Got mood swings, anger issues. Craig still has nightmares. They’re a bit restless.”

_“…”_

“I’m not supposed to tell you any of that by the way. Counts as ‘out of the ordinary’. But I honestly don’t care.”

_“I mean –“_

“You can’t fucking hear me anyway. I could tell you anything and you wouldn’t know. You wouldn’t care.”

_“That’s not –“_

“I really like you, for one.”

_“…what?”_

“An annoying amount actually. Noticed it during the road trip. Just before Georgia. Do you know how weird it feels to fall for your best friend? Weird.”

Jonathan laughed quietly. “Not like you would know.”

There was a pressing silence but Jon was used to it. There was always silence. A few long minutes later, he heaved himself back off the chair and left without another word.

A day later, in the middle of washing the dishes, Jon got a call. He quickly dried his hands and answered it.

“Jonathan, Evan’s friend?”

“Yes, how’s he doing?”

“He woke up.”

Jonathan never dropped his phone. Today was a first for him. After picking it back up and getting more details, he packed a few things and drove off to the hospital.

The drive felt like an eternity and the elevators seemed awfully slow. The second floor definitely got longer too. Everything just took too long.

203.

Jonathan paused, took a deep breath and entered. Two nurses and the doctor stood around the bed and once the door closed behind Jon, they parted.

“We completed the tests”, the doctor told Jon. “The coma didn’t leave any long-term damage. He just needs some rest. As long as you are with him for the next 24 hours, he can be discharged.”

But Jon wasn’t paying attention. Evan was looking up at him. He was there, he was awake, he was conscious. He’d forgotten how dark his eyes were.

“Jonathan?”, the doctor asked and Jon nodded at once.

“Yeah, I can take care of him”, he said. Evan frowned, the simple movement throwing Jon off.

“Jonathan?”, he asked, and it was so familiar, so normal but also so extraordinary.

“Yeah, you ready to go?”, Jon said warily, still trying to process that his friend was back. After almost a month of being in a coma. “I got you some clothes.”

He went to hand the change of clothes over but something within him just snapped. He dropped the clothes and his bag and hugged Evan. There was the unpleasant smell of hospital but beyond all that was just _Evan._

Evan laughed hesitantly and it made Jon smile.

“Do I know you?”, he asked. Jon laughed and let go of him, punching him lightly.

“Very funny. Come on, let’s go.”

Evan looked like he was about to say something but Jon flung the pile of clothes at his face instead, shutting him up. The nurses left and while Evan got changed, Jonathan spoke to the doctor and signed the necessary paperwork, promising that he would watch over him the entire day.

Eventually, Evan walked out, a little stiff but fully dressed.

“Don’t worry, you just have to make it to the car”, Jonathan assured him as they left the hospital. But he could tell that Evan wasn’t just physically rigid but also very hesitant. “Everything okay?”

Jon hoped for a simple yes but Evan stopped walking and fidgeted. Something was wrong.

“I-I probably should’ve said something earlier”, he began slowly.

“Should’ve said what?”

“I don’t…? I mean… I meant what I said earlier…”

Jonathan frowned. “What are you on about?”

Evan bit his lip. “Sorry but who are you?”

The two stared at each other for multiple agonisingly long seconds. Evan wasn’t messing with him. This time it was Jonathan who was screaming inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I had no plan for how I'd end this thing, I just started writing whatever and this happened. It will be a good ending though, I promise, no matter how bad it may look right now. :)


	6. Aftermath Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for taking so long to update, I was hospitalized for a week and I couldn't find the heart to pick up the story anymore.
> 
> Aaaaanyway, this chapter has been edited too often and there are maybe four different versions I attempted, so here is the one that made it (barely) past the security check.
> 
> Updating > Quality?? I tried.

“We’ve been friends for over five years and you’re saying you don’t remember me?”

“Do you want it in writing?”

Jonathan glared back at Evan but fell silent. Evan’s arms were folded together, his shoulders turned inwards, his posture was off. A fine crease between his eyes told Jon that he was annoyed and he knew he shouldn’t be angry but he just was. It was the only way he could hide how broken and helpless he felt.

It didn’t feel right to experience Evan’s safety barrier. It didn’t feel right to be a stranger.

The doctor’s gaze lingered on Jon for a few seconds as if he expected him to retaliate. When he remained quiet, his attention shifted back to Evan.

“If you don’t remember him then it is most likely amnesia”, he suggested but Evan shook his head at once.

“I don’t have amnesia. It can’t be.”

“It’s okay, receiving news like these is always shocking”, the doctor said, smiling in what Jon guessed was supposed to be an assuring way. “The important step to recovery however is acceptance –“

“I’m telling you –“

“Evan, please”, Jonathan interjected. “Let them help you –“

Evan shot him a look of confusion mixed with something along the lines of disgust. That look alone made Jon shut up at once. He had no say in this anymore. He wasn’t a helping friend, he was being an annoying asshole, at least in Evan’s eyes.

Evan turned back to the doctor, visibly holding himself back.

“I remember everything”, he grimaced. “I remember Dulvey. I remember the road trip, I remember being kidnapped, I remember playing that fucking game. There’s no way I couldn’t remember. I’d forget my name before I’d ever forget that.”

The doctor hesitated for a second. “And you know your name?”

The scowl that responded was a deadly one. “Evan. Evan Fong.”

The doctor exchanged a glance with Jon, who nodded, confirming the story. His head was spinning and he was only half listening. How was it possible for Evan to remember everything but him?

“If that’s the case then there may be person-specific memory loss”, the doctor suggested further. “Memory loss only associated with you.”

“Why would it be associated with me?”, Jonathan asked, confused.

“There are all kinds of reasons. Generally people block out memories that are painful to them. Maybe there is something you haven’t told us? Maybe something else happened?”

Jonathan opened his mouth but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Come to think of it… Evan and Tyler had been relying on him to save them in Dulvey. He had lost consciousness while Jon had left to find the electricty source and he didn’t know that he had returned later. Did Evan possibly feel betrayed?

“I… I don’t think so”, Jon responded slowly, extremely unsure of his answer. The expression on Evan’s face had turned into complete distrust and hatred the moment those words left his mouth and Jon just wanted to leave.

The doctor nodded gravely. “It mightn’t be anything you are aware of. Sometimes we do hurtful things to our closest friends without ever finding out.” He paused and the tension hung in the air like heavy snow. “We’ll have to keep you here for a while to perform a few more tests. Is that okay?”

Evan just shrugged. The doctor sighed and got up, indicating to the door. “If you would wait in the cafeteria, that would be splendid. I will send a nurse to get you once we have everything set up.”

“The cafeteria?”, Evan asked, now getting to his feet too.

“Remember where it is?”, the doctor asked as he marched to the door, holding it open. Evan shook his head in response.

“I’ve never been there.”

“I gave you the directions to it last time, in case you’d wanted to eat something before getting discharged. You declined.”

“…no?” Evan tilted his head, unsure whether he was missing something. “This is my first time talking to you, ever.”

The doctor exchanged a quick glance with Jonathan before waving at someone out in the corridor. Jonathan couldn’t shake the feeling that things were a bit worse than he thought. The two nurses that had checked up on Evan earlier entered, looking just as confused.

The doctor turned back to Evan. “Do you remember these people?”

Evan raised his eyebrows but shook his head. Jonathan jumped up from his seat, pulled out his phone and within a few seconds, it was waved in front of Evan’s face.

“Do you know these people?!”, he half yelled, uncaring if Evan would dislike him even more.

Evan took a second to glare at him before mustering the picture. Eventually, he just shrugged again.

“No. Never seen them before.”

If Jon thought he’d felt bad back in Dulvey, he didn’t know what to call how he felt right then. He slowly staggered away from Evan, declining the nurses’ attempts to hold him steady, an almost comical expression of utter betrayal etched on his face. His eyes never leaving Evan’s, Jonathan held out his phone to the doctor, who inhaled sharply.

On the picture were a laughing Craig, an angry Jonathan and a smirking Tyler, flipping his friends off.

And, arms wrapped around all three of them, an adorably beaming Evan.

* * *

By the time Jonathan and Evan left the hospital, the sun had disappeared in the distance, leaving a soft pink sky to drive under.

_“…I don’t know…”_

_“…obviously a joke...”_

_“That’s not me, I’d know.”_

_“…I can’t do it…”_

_“Sir, he’s having a panic attack!”_

_“…prosopagnosia…can’t recognise…”_

Jonathan’s eyes were fixed on the road ahead and not even once had he looked over at Evan. His friend – or _stranger_ , he should say – was leaning heavily against the passenger window, watching the small wisps of cloud pass by. The sound of the car’s AC was soothing in contrast to the excruciating discussion they had just an hour ago.

The sky was pitch black when Jonathan finally pulled up in the driveway, killed the engine and leaned back in his seat. He heard Evan stir a little to his right and wondered whether he’d fallen asleep along the way.

As much as he’d love to just leave him there and never speak to him again, he knew he couldn’t. So he stretched and turned in his seat, mentally preparing for what he was about to say.

“Listen, man –“

“I –“

Somewhere in the dark he made out Evan’s eyes and paused. “…go on.”

Evan bit his lip and glanced at the only light source, a dim street lamp a good distance away. “I…want to apologise. About everything I’ve said the past twenty-four hours. I’m really sorry.”

_Damn right you better be,_ Jonathan thought bitterly, but again, he knew he couldn’t say it. He hummed and lightly ran a finger around the steering wheel. “It’s fine. Not your fault.”

Evan immediately shook his head. “No, it _is_ my fault, I was being such a…such a…” He opened his mouth to say something but a tiny yawn escaped him instead.

Jonathan turned away to hide the smile on his face. How Evan could make him hate and love him at the same time was a mystery to him.

He glanced back at Evan, taking in his conflicted expression, his furrowed brows, his tired eyes…

“Let’s go inside”, he finally suggested, placing a careful hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

It was the first time all day that he didn’t reject him. Jonathan allowed his heart to flutter the tiniest bit when Evan’s hand found it’s way on top of his. His fingers slowly loosened Jonathan’s from his shoulder until they slid smoothly into his own hand.

Jon couldn’t see Evan’s face but his voice, the first time in ages, was gentle and even when he spoke.

“Thank you, Jon.”

* * *

Craig knew it would happen the moment he heard his ringtone flare up. It wasn’t even five seconds later before he heard an infuriated scream and the distinct sound of shattering glass.

He turned off the tap and hastily looked for a towel before deciding that _life didn’t wait for him to dry his hands_ and leaving the bathroom with dripping fingers.

“Tyler?”, he called softly, wiping his hands on his trousers on the way. He really hoped the damage wasn’t too extensive.

When he reached the living room, he found a red-faced Tyler, ready to crush his phone under his foot. Except that was _Craig’s_ phone and he kind of needed it. He launched himself at Tyler and pulled him aside.

“Hey, how about we step away from Craig’s phone, yeah?”, he suggested, now more or less wrestling with Tyler.

The giant huffed. “Then fucking turn it off, if I have to hear it again I will cut my ears off!”

“I don’t think that’s how hearing works”, Craig mused, finally letting go of Tyler in favour of picking up his phone. It wasn’t ringing anymore so Tyler gave up his attempts to murder it.

Craig ignored the massive crack in his screen. There was no point arguing with Tyler, not with the way he had been acting recently, and he’d rather not start a fist fight with someone a good few inches taller. He checked whether it was still functional and was glad to find that it was.

“Jon called”, he told Tyler, who didn’t seem too interested in the information.

“Tell him to text next time”, he hissed.

Craig ignored Tyler yet again and called Jonathan back, checking the floor for possible tiny glass shards. The other was surprisingly fast to pick up.

“Craig?”

“Hey, what’s up”, Craig smiled, straightening up. “You called, is everything okay?”

“Not really”, he heard Jonathan admit. The man seemed rather tired. “Remember I told you Evan woke up from his coma?”

“I don’t see how I could forget that”, Craig chuckled, but stopped right after. He knew that Jon wouldn’t be this serious if he could help it.

“Evan didn’t know who I was when he woke up.”

Craig didn’t breathe for a second, mind racing. “You mean… He’s lost his memories?”

“I thought so too, but we found out that he can’t recognise anyone else either”, Jonathan said. “I showed him that picture we took near the start of our road trip with all of us on it… He didn’t recognise any of us.”

“Not even himself?”, Craig asked.

“Especially not himself”, Jonathan confirmed. “They diagnosed him with prosoapa – wait –“

Craig sat down at the kitchen table, listening to the sound of rustling papers and soft curses and taking the time to think about what all that meant. Tyler must have gotten luckier than he thought… Sure, he had unusual tantrums, a generally more pessimistic view of life, extreme noise sensitivity and too many scars to count but at least his brain wasn’t damaged.

Although, with Tyler yelling at some talk show host on TV, Craig began to question that too.

Jonathan returned to the call before Craig could yell back. “It’s called prosopagnosia”, he said, carefully articulating every syllable. “It says here that he is unable to ‘associate faces with their respective owners’.”

“He can’t recognise faces at all? But that’s good, isn’t it?”, Craig asked. “I mean – not _good_ but it’s better than memory loss.”

“I guess…”

“He definitely knows who we are, yeah?”

Jonathan hummed his confirmation. “He knows ‘Jonathan’ too, so that’s good.” There was some hesitation. “I don’t think he believes me when I say I’m me.”

Craig frowned, finally getting up to close the door and block out Tyler’s booming voice. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… he knows all of us but…” Jonathan was audibly pacing. Eventually he stopped. “He hears me talk and he says it makes sense, I do sound like the Jonathan he knows – but when he looks at me, I know he sees me as a stranger. It feels cold.”

“I didn’t think he’d be cold to strangers”, Craig noticed.

“He’s not”, Jonathan said meekly. “But in comparison to how he usually looks at me, it feels pretty fucking freezing.”

Craig could practically feel his heart break for him. “Shit… I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I’m so sorry, is there anything I can do?”

“No, don’t worry about it”, Jonathan declined at once, clearly trying to sound more upbeat. “Just had to get that off my chest, ‘s all. We haven’t talked yet, but he’s been told to consider applying for disability allowance and move in with a family member… It’s all a bit sudden. He doesn’t have any family to move in with apart from his grandmother in Canada and we both know that’s a bad idea.”

Craig stared out the window in thought until an idea came to mind. “He could move in with you? It’d be convenient for now.”

“I had the same idea”, Jonathan agreed at once. “I’m gonna ask him about it once he’s awake but I’m a bit nervous to do it.”

“Why?”, Craig asked, though he knew the question was a bit stupid.

“He could easily decide that he can handle it himself”, Jonathan explained. “I’m worried someone will take advantage of it. He has to trust others and he hates that.”

“So maybe that will convince him to stay with you”, Craig proposed. “I’m sure he’ll agree. You’re best friends after all.”

Jonathan grimaced. “He and Jonathan are, yeah. Not he and I.”

Craig smiled assuringly. “I’m sure he’ll come around.”

There was a long silence but it wasn’t an awkward one. The tension coming from the other end of the call was slowly dissipating and both enjoyed the relief of letting the heavy issues go and having someone else by their side.

But then Jonathan abruptly spoke up and it visibly startled Craig. “I was going to ask you about Tyler but I hear Evan move in the other room. Short summary?”

“He hasn’t smiled yet. Not even once.”

“Still? Fuck… Play video games with him or see a comedy with him, that might help?”

“Tried both, he still finds a reason to be angry in less than two minutes”, Craig shrugged, a bit helpless as he recalled his countless attempts to get Tyler to cheer up.

“Have you tried sucking his dick?”

“You said you had to go, yeah?”

Jonathan’s laugh echoed through the call and it was refreshing to hear.

“You should try it, works every time”, he said, his grin still audible.

Craig snorted. “You’d know.”

“Alright, I’ll call you once I know what’s happening”, Jonathan concluded. His tone was turning more grave and a second, more quiet voice could now be heard too. “Talk to you in a bit.”

“Okay, don’t forget.”

Craig ended the call and put his phone down, suddenly feeling extremely tired. Keeping up with the news about Evan had been stressful enough over the past few days… He didn’t know how Jonathan was keeping it together being right in the middle of it.

He lingered in the kitchen a little longer, thoughts occupied, until he decided to just wait it out until Jonathan called again. He pocketed his phone (making sure it was safe from Tyler) and returned to the living room area.

Tyler sat between the coffee table and the television like a dog about to pounce on a cat.

“Tyler –“

“WHAT?!”

Craig stopped in his tracks and slowly shut his mouth again. Tyler’s expression gradually shifted from a madman’s back to normal, his eyes softening. It was always like that, as if he just woke up from a haze of sorts.

“Sorry”, he mumbled, picking at a loose carpet fiber. “Didn’t mean to yell at you.”

Craig thought about his response for a second before sitting down on the couch and snatching a controller.

“The Great Tyler apologising about being as loud as ever?”, Craig asked in mock disbelief. “Is everything okay? Do you need a doctor?” Tyler glanced at Craig and he could’ve sworn his mouth edge twitched up a little. “Get a controller. I need someone to beat me at Mario Kart.”

Tyler hesitated and for a second Craig thought he’d straight up decline. But, surprisingly, he ended up smirking.

“Of course you do”, he said haughtily, taking the second controller from the table. “I will destroy your ass, as always.”

Craig sighed. He figured he could live with Tyler’s blown-up ego and a few losses in exchange for a few hours of Tyler’s smile. It was well worth it.

Night was falling soon though and it was the worst time for both of them.

After being hospitalised for a week and discharged, Craig had decided to stay with Tyler until the van was repaired – or at least that was the explanation he gave. Tyler didn’t seem to care but still reminded him that he only had one bedroom. Craig didn’t object.

Craig had learned that Tyler couldn’t stand being the last to go to bed, so every evening, they would watch some mindless show on TV until it got dark and go to bed at the same time. It didn’t seem like a big deal but it was the calmest part of the night.

Once they both tried to get to sleep, all hell would break loose – nightmares, sleepwalking, screaming, hyperventilating, anxious sleep talking… At one point, Tyler had almost broken Craig’s nose trying to free himself from whatever held him captive in his mind.

This night was a little different.

Both lay under the thin blanket, Craig’s even breathing barely audible in the darkness. Tyler wasn’t asleep quite yet but his body was rigid, his shoulders tense. His hands were shaking the tiniest bit. His eyes were shut tight in an attempt to get rid of the images in his mind.

Craig’s own nights never seemed abnormal until exactly two hours after falling asleep. His breathing got heavier and slightly faster, he began to clench his jaw and curl his hands into light fists. So far, that night wasn’t any different.

Whatever nightmare was haunting him that night made Craig toss and turn a lot, to the point that he was practically leaning into Tyler’s space. The moment he accidentally touched his hand, Tyler flinched and shot up, moving away from Craig at once and muttering wildly under his breath. The sudden reaction woke up Craig as well, who was startled but relieved to be awake.

“F-fuck”, he mumbled shakily, not noticing Tyler’s ghostly expression until he looked up. “Shit, did I wake you up?”

Tyler shook his head but otherwise didn’t move. “Wasn’t sleeping”, he added quietly.

Once the initial shock wore off, they noticed the small space dividing them. This definitely wasn’t the first time they’d slept this close together and any other time, Craig would have pointedly crawled even further Tyler’s space and waited until the other playfully shoved him off.

But this was current Tyler who yelled for freedom in the middle of the night. This was _disturbed_ Tyler.

Craig didn’t hesitate to move away. The last thing he wanted to do was make Tyler uncomfortable or make his insomnia worse.

“Sorry”, he mumbled, glad that the darkness hid his dusted cheeks.

He didn’t get a response from Tyler but decided not to think about it too much. Once his heart calmed down again and the excitement subsided, he went back to sleep. The nightmares of undead women chasing him returned as if he’d never left them and Craig was searching feverishly for a sign of safety.

When he saw it and grabbed onto it, Tyler’s flinching pulled him back out of his dream again. When he opened his eyes, he found himself even closer to Tyler than before. The front of his hair was brushing Tyler’s, their noses basically lying on top of each other’s.

Tyler’s steely eyes focused on Craig, unblinking. Craig moved away once again, not even managing another apology with how jittery the situation made him.

But then it happened _again_.

“Dude –“

“No, don’t say it, I know what you’re thinking”, Craig interrupted.

“Yeah no shit, this face ain’t hard to read!”

Craig was already in the process of turning away from Tyler again, facing the opposite wall with resolution.

“Listen, I’m really sorry, I don’t do it on purpose”, Craig apologised remorsefully. “I know I’m getting in your way… I do more damage than I help. I swear I’ll book my flight back to LA first thing tomorrow morning and I’ll be gone and you won’t have to… Um… Tyler…?”

Tyler had roughly pulled Craig back into his space and wrapped his arms around him, clinging to him. There were a few long seconds of silence in which Craig didn’t know what to do while Tyler seemed perfectly content never moving again.

Craig knew that there was no point hiding how happy yet nervous this positioning made him anymore. Tyler’s arms were crossed over Craig’s wildly pounding heart yet he didn’t say a word.

_Maybe he was tired. Maybe he didn’t care. Maybe he really didn’t notice._

No, he definitely knew.

“We clearly help each other sleep this way”, Tyler muttered after a while, Craig shivering at the sound resonating near his ear. “You’re not scared, I’m not paranoid. We sleep in peace.”

Craig hummed in response, unsure what to think. He shifted into a comfortable position and closed his eyes, enjoying Tyler’s presence behind him. For all he knew, this might be the last time he could.

It wasn’t a secret apparently, not anymore. They had to talk about it eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anything doesn't make sense or you spot mistakes, please tell me so I can explain/correct. Also, feed me all your feedback >:)
> 
> Thanks for reading guys, stay safe :)


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